Hello there Mary Jo, and welcome to our corner of recovery.
Yes, it's very common to miss the opiates once you get off them. Opiates are a chemical that affects our brains, just the same as alcohol. You can work the 12 steps exactly the same way for opiates as you do for alcohol.
In some of the larger cities they even have 12 step programs for people who need recovery from pain medications. In Los Angeles they called themselves "Pill Addicts Anonymous".
I have a terminal disease that damages my nervous system. The pain varies in strength, but never goes away. Some days are easy. Some are not. I will never be able to live without various meds, including pain meds. The days I don't need any pain meds I think about them. The disease that causes me to become addicted to alcohol works the same for pain meds, and I treat it the same.
You mention that your sponsor and support people know how you feel, but you didn't mention what specific actions you are taking to overcome the cravings. I participate in various commitments at my meetings. I sponsor a couple of guys who are themselves dealing with chronic pain. Perhaps if you share some of the things you are doing we can all contribute some suggestions.
Welcome again, I'm glad you decided to join us.
Mike
